EPO President Benoît
Battistelli: "The winners' ingenuity and creativity are indicative of Europe's
position as a leading technology region."

Berlin/Munich, 17 June 2014 - The European
Patent Office (EPO) presented the European Inventor Award 2014 today in Berlin honouring outstanding inventors
for their contribution to social, economic and technological progress. The award
ceremony, held at the former Kaiserliches
Telegrafenamt (Imperial Telegraph
Office) in Germany's capital, was attended by some 500 guests from the
fields of business, science, culture and politics, including German Federal
Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Heiko Maas.

The
international jury selected the winners from 15 finalists, themselves selected from
over 300 proposals for individual inventors and inventor teams put forward for
the 2014 award. The winners are: Artur Fischer (Germany) in the category "Lifetime
achievement", Koen Andries/Jérôme Guillemont (Belgium/France) in "Industry",
Peter Holme Jensen (Denmark) in "Small and medium-sized enterprises",
Christofer Toumazou (UK) in "Research" and Charles W. ("Chuck") Hull in "Non-European
countries". In addition, the Popular Prize was awarded to public favourite Masahiro
Hara and his team, who received nearly 30% of the more than 20 000 votes cast
online.

The winners at a glance:

Lifetime
achievement: With over 1 100 applications for patents and utility
models, Artur Fischer (Germany) is one of the most prolific inventors of all
time. His invention and namesake, the expansion plug (or "Fischer wall plug") revolutionised
the construction industry in 1958 and has been used billions of times around
the world ever since. Other innovations which have earned him worldwide
recognition include the first synchronised photo flash for cameras and his
"fischertechnik" toy building sets. Additional information here.

Industry: Koen Andries (Belgium),
Jérôme Guillemont (France) and team were distinguished for their efforts in
developing the first new effective tuberculosis (TB) drug in 40 years. Thanks
to the research team led by Andries and Guillemont, the disease - including
multi-drug resistant forms - can now be treated successfully. The innovative
drug quickly cuts off the energy supply in TB bacteria, significantly reducing
treatment times and enabling a full recovery. Additional information here.

Small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): Peter Holme Jensen, Claus Hélix-Nielsen and Danielle
Keller (Denmark) received the Award for their invention of a water-purifying
membrane coated with aquaporins, which purifies water without
consuming large amounts of energy. The innovation of this Danish team of chemists relies on the natural
filtering function of so-called aquaporins. Unlike conventional methods, it
does not require an elaborate filtration system based on energy- and
cost-intensive hydrostatic pressure. Additional
information here.

Research: Christofer Toumazou (United
Kingdom) won in the Research category with his invention of a quick DNA test which
can decipher the genetic makeup of individuals within minutes, without the need
for lab work - a milestone along the path to innovative medical healthcare with
a preventive focus. The innovation is based on a microchip that detects
deviations in an individual human genome. The chip can be inserted into a USB
stick, providing results that are viewable directly on a computer. Additional information here.

Non-European countries: Charles W. Hull (United States) received the European Inventor Award for his
invention of 3D printing - a technology that is currently in use in numerous
fields and that has triggered a veritable revolution in manufacturing. Although
a multitude of different procedures for 3D printing now exist, they all build on
Hull's original invention. Additional information here.

Popular Prize:
Masahiro Hara, Takayuki Nagaya and team (Japan): It is hard to imagine
day-to-day life without the QR (Quick Response) code they invented. Among other
things, it is used for managing inventory in factories, administering patient
files, tracking biological samples and as a marketing tool. The QR code links
the physical world with the virtual realm by means of a smartphone or tablet
and the relevant app. Additional information here.

The choice of the public was clear, as nearly 30% of the votes cast went
to the Japanese team. Moreover, with over 20 000, the number of votes coming
from around the world more than doubled over last year.

"Innovation
is absolutely essential for Europe to generate growth and prosperity and secure
its position among the leading industrial regions," said EPO President Benoît Battistelli at the award ceremony. "All of the
inventors we are honouring here today have introduced game-changing
technological innovations in their respective fields. Their achievements
improve people's everyday lives, and represent substantial contributions to
tackling major global challenges such as climate change, access to clean
drinking water and improving health. Their ingenuity and creativity are
indicative of Europe's position as a leading technology region. And patents
play a major role in protecting this status on a daily basis."

About the
European Inventor Award

Launched
in 2006, the European Inventor
Award is presented annually by the European Patent Office. The
award honours inventive individuals and teams whose pioneering work provides
answers to the challenges of our age and thereby contributes to social
progress, economic growth and prosperity. Fifteen finalists and, subsequently,
the winners are chosen from among the nominees by a high-profile international
jury. The award is presented in five categories: Industry,
Research, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Non-European countries,
and Lifetime achievement. The general public voted
online to select the winner of the Popular Prize from among the
15 finalists.

About the EPO

With approximately 7 000 employees, the European Patent Office (EPO)
is one of the largest European public service institutions. Its headquarters are
in Munich, and it also has offices in The Hague, Berlin, Vienna and Brussels. The
EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in
Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors can
obtain high-quality patent protection in the 38 member states of the European
Patent Organisation. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent
information and patent searching.

Note
to Editors:

Availability
of AV and photo materials on 17 June

A live stream of the European Inventor Award ceremony can be viewed on www.epo.org from 11.00 CET onwards

Users of Samsung and Toshiba Smart TV devices can view the show live from
11.00 CET onwards, and later on-demand using the "Innovation TV" Smart TV app
of the European Patent Office.

The EPO will make audio-visual material of the ceremony and winners available
in SD quality on www.hellosports.com as follows:

14.15 CET: Handing
over of the prize in the different categories: rough cuts